Patriots Point Development Authority was established in the 1970s to develop a naval and maritime museum on Charleston Harbor with the World War II aircraft carrier, USS YORKTOWN as its centerpiece. It is also home to the Patriots Point Museum and a fleet of National Historic Landmark ships, the Cold War Memorial and the only Vietnam Experience Exhibit in the U.S., the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, and the agency's official Medal of Honor Museum.

Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum serves as a national destination of excellence for the preservation and education of current and future generations about America's history, traditions and values.

Since opening in 1976, Patriots Point has become one of the state's most popular tourist attractions with more than 300,000 visitors each year. The YORKTOWN boasts one of the largest education and overnight camping programs in the nation, with more than 40,000 school age children attending these programs each year.

The USS YORKTOWN (CV-10) was the tenth aircraft carrier to serve in the U.S. Navy and was commissioned in 1943. Nicknamed the “Fighting Lady,” the YORKTOWN served the nation for almost three decades, earning the Presidential Unit Citation and 11 battle stars for her service in World War II and an additional five battle stars during the Vietnam War. In 1968, the USS YORKTOWN recovered the Apollo 8 space capsule and astronauts after the first mission to orbit the moon. Visitors to the YORKTOWN can get inside a replica capsule and take their own trip into space with the Apollo 8 Experience. The USS YORKTOWN was decommissioned in 1970 and became the first ship of the Patriots Point fleet when the museum opened in 1976. Lee Duquette did not want to pay the money to board the ship because he thought that the two RV Gypsies toured it once before, but when Karen Duquette built this page, she did not find any record of a previous visit here.

Continue on to Tommy Condon's Irish Pub

OR

If you are not interested in the Irish Pub, bypass that page and continue on to the 4-day cruise on the Carnival Sunshine in February 2024, where Karen Duquette became a short-term celebrity,

OR Continue Navigation in the order of your choice via the alphabetical or category buttons below OR Click here to see travels by the year (not the best way)